Saturday

Hello everyone,
We enjoyed a good Saturday, all things considered. We especially enjoyed visits and birthday wishes from all. There were smiles all around for much of the day--not bad for a hospital day. Maggie finished her Methotrexate IV--a high dose which we'll repeat next weekend. So far, she hasn't had any adverse reaction to the chemo. She smiled and laughed (we'll add a video tomorrow) a lot and even ate normally which was much desired and a first over the last 4-5 days. She's off the IV nutrition and will remain so, perhaps she'll have a good appetite for a while. Some kids apparently do become nauseous during the administration of this chemo, so we've avoided that so far. What a blessing. We have a few days to get through before nausea is out of the question. Later in the week we'll be getting ready to come back in and we'll also start watching for side effects from this chemo--mouth sores being the primary concern. Dr. French also predicted that the rest of her hair will soon be gone. That will be sad as many of the nurses and doctors make comments about the beautiful color of her hair--auburnish red. If we can avoid the mouth sores we'll consider ourselves very blessed. Her counts are good now so she should be able to heal a little quicker if she does get them.

We enjoyed good carry-out food today courtesy of Whitney's family and seemed to enjoy the day. Maggie did wonderfully and we enjoyed her happiness thoroughly. She hung in all day despite not having a single nap and coming off of a shortened night of sleep last night again. She keeps on ticking, while Whitney and I are trying not to drag. Though we are tired, it helps a lot to see her have such a good day. We'll enjoy every one as tougher days of side effects are likely to come soon.

Thanks again for your prayers, concern, and correspondence. Whitney enjoyed everyone's contribution to her birthday celebration today, both from those near and far. Look for a cute video tomorrow. We hope to be well rested when we post it.

Goodnight.